Mr. Truthiness Goes To Washington

Steven Colbert alumni of The Daily Show and host of his own show, The Colbert Report on Comedy Central headlined the White House Correspondents Dinner last night.

Early reports are that Bush is not amused. Will there be fallout?

Among the notables at the event was Valerie Plame as a guest of ABC. While her presence with husband Joseph Wilson will likely incite some controversy, the jury is still out, while controversy over Colbert's performance seems to be the hot blog topic.

Video of Colbert's routine are available. Part I | Part II
And there's a transcript.

Plumbers Back At Watergate?

Perhaps not in the way one might think. But, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal, some folks on Capitol Hill have been "laying pipe."

While Nixon's plumbers of olde may have had a change of heart, the new scandal rocking the venerable hotel is just breaking, barely giving congresspersons time to buckle their pants and throw a twenty on the dresser.

Finally someone got a BJ. Now can we start the impeachment proceedings?

News On The March

If you're one of the two or three people who may have come by the office at 212 E. 22nd Street within the last couple of weeks, you've seen some changes, and may have noticed we're out of the office alot.

And if you're one of the none or two people who might've been by the office since yesterday or the day before, you've seen the biggest change of all: we're not there at all any more.

Yes, we've closed the office there, and I--your humble narrator, ink-stained wretch, editor, publisher, chief cook and bottle washer, jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none--have relocated to (in the words of the Bush administration), a secure, undisclosed location.

This should not be construed as the last gasp of a dying publication; on the contrary. I simply--and finally--decided that the meager foot traffic didn't warrant the monthly outlay. In fact, the office served pretty much only to provide a window where I could have the Vanguard's sign affixed as a way to feed my already swollen ego.

Swollen, but practical: Thinking about it, I decided that it would be better to divert the monthly lease cost, along with the fees for water, gas, electric, high-speed cable internet, 24-hour alarm monitoring, and all the rest; that there were better uses for this monthly outlay. I'd much rather pay the starving yet oh-so-talented writers, rather spend the money on expanding the paper's distribution, spiffing up the look and feel of the paper. In other words, concentrate on delivering a higher quality product.

Know that despite our lack of a physical presence in Uptown Village (if you were ever aware of it), the Vanguard will continue to publish, and that it will be better and stronger than ever. And that we will continue to deliver the best of Vancouver news, politics, arts and entertainment, and of course, The Usual Suspects....

If you have any questions, would like to meet with me, or would like to get stuff into my hands (comments, kvetches, cards, letters, nude photos or death threats), you can contact me in one of several ways:

via email to: editor@vanguardweekly.com
via phone: 360-521-6642
via snail mail: Editor, Vanguard, PO Box 61771, Vancouver WA 98666
or comment here at the blog: altvanguard.blogspot.com

The Internet Freedom Fight: A Round-Up

This came from Matt Stoller via Jon Devore.

Background on the Issue: The internet is open because private companies haven't been allowed to block content they don't like. Now the telcos want to make it so they can block what you see.

The Threat to You is real: Telcos have already blocked competing services, censored emails, and political web sites of unions negotiating with them. Why do you assume they care about your rights?

Come On, This Isn't Really Happening: Fine, don't believe me. Ignore the fact that the CEO of AT&T is on record that this is going to happen. You can pretend that this won't affect you, if you want.

'Net Neutrality': A Simple Explanation: Annoying tech issue, maybe, but you can watch this this simple video explanation .

Explaining the Players in the Fight : It's a corporate cartel with bought and paid lobbyists versus a free market and citizens groups.

Can we win this fight? Yes, we can. Congress isn't that set on giving away the internet. They just don't understand the issues involved and don't think anyone's paying attention.

What You Should Link to:
SavetheInternet.com
Moveon Petition
Save the Internet on MySpace


And a whole raft of scary crap at Electronic Freedom Foundation

Meanwhile, I egregiously downloaded this from Linkfilter on a related topic.

Travel Plans This Summer?

Okay. But it's going to cost you.

Bloomberg--among others--reports that gasoline futures have hit record highs (over $70/barrel) as world tensions increase, and as China makes a deal with the Nigerians.

Of course, getting from place to place isn't the only thing affected.

If you want to know where things stand right now, you can find out what gas would cost where you are and/or where you're going.

The Auto Club has some good resources, including a primer (warning: .pdf) on how petroleum gets to be gas, and how pricing is arrived at.

Although, there may be other factors involved.*

If you're looking for an alternative to the heavy wallet lifting you're likely to have to do at the pump, you might consider other modes of transportation.

In the meanwhile, drive safely.

* The Stratfor article is--I think--a good one, but it won't load as a link for me. Bugmenot may work. Otherwise, here is the article in it's entirety. Sorry for the lo-o-ong post. -- ed.

The Ongoing Threat to the World's Energy Pipelines
April 18, 2006 17 28 GMT

A bomb damaged a portion of a pipeline supplying natural gas to a town near Quetta in
Pakistan's Balochistan province April 18, disrupting supplies to thousands of domestic
consumers. Although the pipeline is not connected to any export system, meaning the
impact of the bombing is localized, the attack highlights the vulnerability of energy supply
lines throughout the world. As the price of oil continues to rise, an attack against a vital
pipeline or energy station could have serious economic and political consequences.

The fact is that attacks against pipelines are common in Balochistan province and in other
regions of the world where gas and oil flow through remote, lawless areas controlled by
ethnic minorities who believe they are not receiving a fair cut. Moreover, al Qaeda has
directly called for hits on petroleum targets, raising the probability that jihadists will
attempt further attacks. The recent attempt against the Abqaiq oil collection and processing facility in eastern Saudi Arabia underscores the vulnerability of these targets to determined
militants.

The Balochistan region, which straddles Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a historical trade,
smuggling and invasion route. Although ethnic Balochis at odds with the Iranian
government have thus far refrained from attacking energy infrastructure, those on the
Pakistani side have sabotaged pipelines. A proposed gas pipeline between India and Iran,
which would pass through Iranian Balochistan, would make a likely militant target,
however.

Natural gas and oil pipelines and production facilities also are often attacked in places as far
apart as Iraq and Nigeria's Niger River Delta. In Iraq, insurgents have attacked pipelines to
disrupt utility service in Baghdad, thereby putting pressure on the coalition and Iraqi
government. In Nigeria, militants attack pipelines and other petroleum facilities in the delta
as a way to extort money from the government and foreign oil companies.

Pipelines that are easiest to hit are those that traverse areas wracked by ethnic strife or
insurgencies -- where government control is limited. Furthermore, the enormous length of
these energy corridors and their placement through remote areas make them too difficult to adequately patrol and secure. Because of these factors, pipelines are the preferred target of many militant groups. A simple improvised explosive device in the right place can put a
critical pipeline out of operation for weeks.

Certain pipelines, if hit, would cause immense damage to the global energy market. The
pipelines delivering oil and natural gas from Siberia to Europe, and those traversing the vast
open stretches of Canada, which transport oil and gas to the United States, are two
examples. If militants were to attack one of these vital pipelines, the disruption of energy to
Europe or the United States would be felt immediately.

One of the most important pipelines coming on line in the near future is the 667-mile
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) line designed to carry Caspian Sea energy resources to Western
markets via the Mediterranean. The BTC will run through the Southern Caucasus and
eastern Turkey, which are experiencing ethnic tension or outright insurgencies. When the
pipeline becomes operational and is linked into the global energy market, the influx of
wealth into the region will raise the economic and political stakes for the many antagonistic
ethnic groups, and provide a tempting target for the militant groups in the region.

To date, attacks either have been unsuccessful -- as in the Abqaiq incident -- or they have
not targeted oil facilities important enough to cause major alarm. If militants were to
seriously damage a critical pipeline, the economic and political impact on the industrialized
nations would be severe and immediate.

Now We're Getting Somewhere

Scottie McClellan resigns and Rove leaves policy post.

Strap yourself in for all the link-y goodness:

New White House Chief of Staff Bolten is housecleaning.

McClellan will now have more time for recreational activities.

Meanwhile, replacement names are floated: Fox News anchor Tony Snow and Dan Senor, a prominent former spokesman for the US Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority. But, how will they be able to fill Scotty's shoes?

Also, the Director of faith-based initiatives is leaving.

And is the Prez quo-ing the quid pro from Ohio in '04, or just appointing a family friend, by naming Rob Portman as new White House budget director?

Is this session of musical chairs an effort stop the bleeding or is it a hemorrage?

Meanwhile, "You're doing a great job, Rummy!"

Too bad Bolten doesn't have the clout to force the ouster of the CINC and VP, too.

Michelle "Malevolent" Malkin Incites Death Threats

The Vanguard would like The Columbian to explain how printing the spewings of a columnist who violates the SPJ code of ethics is acceptable. I guess ethics are for chumps.

Jon sent this to me. It is from Daily Kos...

The Thuggery of Michelle Malkin
by georgia10 Tue Apr 18, 2006 at 08:13:32 AM PDT
Bumped by Armando.

Michelle Malkin has crossed the line. What line? That line that separates humans with a moral core and, well, those apathetic creatures incapable of emotions like empathy or shame. For those who haven't followed the controversy , it goes something like this:

Right now, the dark-haired, lashy, Ann Coulter understudy is happily wrapped in one of her typical controversies: a crew of students at UC Santa Cruz, my alma mater, protested some military recruiters, and Malkin got hold of a press release with their personal contact information -- a poorly conceived inclusion on the students' part, but then, these are undergraduates, not trained media flacks. Rather than calling and speaking to them herself, which is what members of the press are supposed to use such releases for, Malkin published their personal information on her website, prompting her hordes of orcish mouth-breathers to brandish their pitchforks and inundate the unsuspecting students with death threats (some of which you can read here ). When the students frantically called on Malkin to remove their numbers, she posted their contact information again.

Chris Bowers & John Amato have more:

That Malkin took advantage of the naivete of what she called "anti-war thugs" and "moonbats" is not out of character for her. Malkin's sustenance is hate--without it, she wouldn't have anything to write about. She thrives on the misery and pain of others as she peddles in racism and inflammatory rhetoric. And her readers eat it up.

Let's be real, Malkin knows her audience like the back of her hand. She publishes their emails regularly on her site, she knows the type of radical people her site attracts. So when she published the contact information, she did so with a specific purposes (conspicuously absent from her post, by the way, was her request to "be polite "). To sum up Malkin's actions in two words: sic 'em!

So is it surprising that Malkin's minions followed her lead and harassed the SAW students with vitriol? Nope. Is it surprising they sent death threats? Of course not. Because that's the type of people Malkin's work attracts: cowardly, passive-aggressive let-me-sit-at-my-computer-and-talk-tough-because-I'm-too-afraid-to-go-to-Iraq wingers who get off on sending emails describing their wet dreams of blowing the brains out of "intolerant left wing socialist f**ing c**k-suckers. [redacted - ed.]"

After receiving death threats from these 101st Fighting Keyboarders, the SAW students politely asked Malkin to remove the contact information from her site. Malkin refused. Indeed, she republished the contact info . And this is where her actions turn from mean-spirited to downright sick.

By reposting the contact information knowing full well she was to elicit death threats and attack, Malkin is condoning the actions of her readers. Of course, scared Michelle posts a "disclaimer," , skirting any responsibility for the actions of her attack dogs. But if she knows the threats are coming from her readers, such a disclaimer has a wink, wink, don't do it effect. If she truly does not condone death threats and foul language, she should oblige the SAW students and remove the information from her blog.

Malkin, who considers herself a "journalist" , has blatantly violated the Code of Ethics for journalists by setting her attack dogs on these students.

Minimize Harm

Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.

Journalists should:

Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects. [...]
Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.

Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's privacy.[...]

Bloggers don't need to be journalists to follow this code or basic standards of human decency. But Malkin is no journalist, nor does she have any decency. It is high time she be stripped of this designation in the media and labeled appropriately: as a pundit who makes her living off of propaganda and hate. Indeed, Malkin calling the SAW students "thugs" may be the clearest case of projection I've seen in the blogosphere. For it is Malkin who acts like a thug when she invites her readers to harass and intimidate students exercising their 1st Amendment rights.

Alas, with her moral core, I doubt Malkin is even aware she's crossed the line.

Update:

YukonJack reminded me that Michelle Malkin was named Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person" in the world yesterday night. Video at C&L .